FOOD Let’s Dish As interest grows in learning about and understanding Indigenous culture, a unique five-year-old Indigenous Cook pre-apprenticeship program is thriving at Algonquin College. Ottawa At Home spoke with Chef Chris Commandant, a restaurant industry veteran who serves as the program’s coordinator, to find out about this innovative approach to sharing knowledge and respecting traditions. Why is this program important and timely? Algonquin has made supporting Indigenous students a huge priority so this program was designed to offer
another avenue to increase participation and graduation rates. It was developed to let students—both Indigenous and non-Indigenous—become immersed in important cultural values and traditions. What are the key objectives? We help students connect with Indigenous culture and history while providing them with many of the same practical skillsets as in our Culinary and Culinary Management programs. Students are exposed to a broad range of ideologies and traditions to help them discover, discuss and understand issues happening in real time across the country.
What are participants doing after completing the program? Eighty percent of graduates move on to jobs in the food world, in various settings including restaurants and as Indigenous cultural advisors on food production in their own communities. Some students have gone on to further study in other fields. What aspects of your background are helping you succeed in running this program? I am originally from the Wahta Haudenosaunee Indigenous community in Bala, Ontario and since childhood have been learning about Indigenous culture;
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